Pope Leo XIV France Visit Draws Huge Crowds
The Pope Leo XIV France visit begins with huge crowds expected across the country, including more than 600,000 Catholic faithful for a major Mass in central Paris.
Pope Leo XIV arrived in France on Friday for a four-day visit that will include meetings with President Emmanuel Macron, young Catholics, migrants and victims of sexual abuse involving members of the Catholic clergy.
Macron greeted the Pope at Orly airport and is due to hold talks with him at the Élysée Palace on geopolitical issues and artificial intelligence. The French president will also appear with the Pope during a speech in Metz.
Macron will not attend the Pope’s Masses, largely because of France’s strict separation between the state and religion. His wife, Brigitte Macron, and Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu are expected at Saturday’s Mass, alongside several candidates for next year’s presidential election.
Paris Mass Expected to Attract 600,000 People
The centrepiece of the Pope Leo XIV France visit will take place on Saturday afternoon at the Place de la Concorde, where an altar has been constructed for the Mass.
Police have sealed off a large area around the Champs-Élysées as preparations continue for the enormous gathering. Organisers expect about 600,000 people to fill the famous avenue towards the Arc de Triomphe and beyond.
Pope Leo XIV will also travel through crowds in the Popemobile before visiting Notre-Dame cathedral on Friday afternoon. Later that evening, about 80,000 young people are expected to gather with him at the Stade de France in northern Paris.
The Pope’s schedule will then move south to Lourdes, where 150,000 people have registered to attend Mass at the famous Pyrenean sanctuary on Sunday.
Pope Leo XIV to Meet Migrants and Abuse Survivors
The Pope Leo XIV France visit will also include meetings focused on some of the most sensitive issues facing the Catholic Church and wider European society.
In Paris, the Pope is scheduled to meet a group of migrants. In Lourdes, he will meet victims of sexual abuse by members of the Catholic clergy.
The Pope will travel to Metz on Monday, where he will honour Robert Schuman, a founding figure of the European Union who was also a committed Catholic. Schuman, who lived from 1886 to 1963, is currently a candidate for beatification.
Reports had suggested tensions between Macron’s administration and the Vatican team over arrangements for the visit. Élysée officials dismissed those reports, saying it was normal to offer a visiting head of state a range of ceremonial events.
The Vatican team did, however, turn down a proposal for Pope Leo to meet artisans involved in rebuilding Notre-Dame after the cathedral was devastated by fire. Officials said the Pope’s schedule was too tight.
Pope Leo XIV Has French Family Roots
The Pope’s visit also carries a personal connection to France. Born in Chicago in 1955 as Robert Prevost, Pope Leo XIV has French ancestry through his paternal grandmother, who was born in Le Havre in Normandy in 1894.
France has a long and complicated relationship with the Catholic Church. It was historically described as the “Eldest Daughter of the Church”, although the claim that France was the first kingdom to convert to Christianity is inaccurate, as Armenia, Georgia and Ethiopia converted earlier.
The papacy was based in Avignon during the 14th Century, while French military and political involvement later played a role in Italian affairs involving the papacy. Napoleon also held two popes in captivity.
Recent popes have continued to visit France. John Paul II travelled there several times between 1980 and 2004, while Pope Francis visited the country three times, travelling to Strasbourg, Marseille and Corsica but not Paris.
Catholic Interest Shows Signs of Revival
The Pope Leo XIV France visit comes as the country’s relationship with Catholicism continues to change. Less than half of France’s population now identifies as Catholic, while regular worship has fallen sharply.
The proportion of regular worshippers dropped from 35% of the population in 1960 to less than 5% today. The number of priests has also fallen from 25,000 in 1990 to fewer than 9,000.
However, there are signs of renewed interest in religious traditions. Adult baptisms more than doubled over five years, reaching 10,000 in 2025.
Cardinal François Bustillo, Bishop of Ajaccio, said France had become more secular but argued that people were searching for meaning and values.
He said the Pope’s arrival from Rome could reconnect people with their religious roots, adding: “It was John-Paul II who awoke the East. Now Leo XIV will awake the West.”